# Destroying Angel and Other Names **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244 "2007-04-23T02:44:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/1 "2007-04-23T02:44:13Z")
Destroying Angel Trumpet of Death Angel of Death Dead Man’s fingers Stinkhorn Poison Pie The Devil’s Urn Peckerhead Witch’s Hat Death Cap Autumn Skullcap Satan’s Mushroom These could all be bad horror flicks, but they are… types of mushrooms.Who is naming these things? One of the above is listed as a prime edible in the mushroom world.Which one would you eat? Couple of comments I noticed while browsing the mushroom sites: Dead Man’s Fingers-By the final stages, however, one is more likely to mistake it for something left by a house cat Stinkhorn-stinkhorns range from looking rather like Morels to appearing like a portion of canine anatomy. The prime edible is The Trumpet of Death ---
**Author:** ![Gentle\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gentle\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gentle_Robot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/2 "2007-04-23T03:36:22Z")
They sound like death metal bands ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/3 "2007-04-23T04:42:36Z")
Some of them sound vaguely pornographic. Peckerhead Stinkhorn Dead Man’s Fingers tehehe ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/4 "2007-04-23T04:51:55Z")
[QUOTE=Mbossa] Some of them sound vaguely pornographic. Peckerhead Stinkhorn Dead Man’s Fingers [/QUOTE] Don’t forget Poison Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/5 "2007-04-23T08:03:48Z")
Trumpet of death, right? - I think it’s a synonym for _Craterellus_ spp - AKA _Horn of Plenty_ ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/6 "2007-04-23T08:28:22Z")
I saw the mouseover, and thought “City of Heros/Villain’s character names ?” ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/7 "2007-04-23T14:31:12Z")
Funny, I thought these were _place_ names! (yeah well, I’ve seen Murder Creek and Booger Mountain…) ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/8 "2007-04-23T14:36:54Z")
Those are usually folk names. If you consider that in those backward days illiterate, deeply superstitious and godfearing folk had to name these mysterious, slimey, phallic-shaped growths, growths that were sometimes delicious to eat, sometimes poisonous and often both…I feel they’ve shown remarkable restraint. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/9 "2007-04-23T15:13:31Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Those are usually folk names. If you consider that in those backward days illiterate, deeply superstitious and godfearing folk had to name these mysterious, slimey, phallic-shaped growths, growths that were sometimes delicious to eat, sometimes poisonous and often both. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Right. Victims who have survived often report some of the toxic ones are very tastey. Some more comments I saw where very harsh warnings about the Death Cap-Probably the most dangerous mushroom on earth. Destroying Angel-Deadly.Will kill you with one bite. Another one that isn’t as bad sounding as the rest is the Gyromitra esculenta AKA The Brain Mushroom,The Rocket Fuel Mushroom,False morel or(what we call around here)Beefsteak.Desribed as the “Fugu of the Finnish Kitchen” and are listed in the edibility category as a choice edible or deadly. They are very common here,I saw about 50-60 the last two days(along with one Trumpet of Death and a very small Devils Urn) and I know several people that eat them, tho I never have and don’t wanna try. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/10 "2007-04-23T15:24:35Z")
I note the USAF has a drone called **Predator** and now a new one call **Reaper**. Perhaps we could name the next one **Stinkhorn**? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/destroying-angel-and-other-names/401244/11 "2007-04-23T15:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=Gentle Robot] They sound like death metal bands [/QUOTE] Really…I thought it was the lineup for this year’s Ozzfest.